Investing in rural youth in El Salvador to tackle migration and enhance food security

The IFAD-funded Rural Adelante Project in El Salvador helps rural youth stay in their communities and make a living from agriculture, instead of migrating to cities or abroad.

Iris Maribel Alberto Laínez is one of hundreds of young people who have received training in new agricultural practices and help with buying equipment so that they can set up successful businesses.

The support has helped Iris and her colleagues from the El Limón cooperative establish a prosperous vegetable-growing business using a modern cultivation system called hydroponics. Instead of using soil, plants are grown on rocks or coconut fibre in greenhouses and are fed with a solution containing a refined blend of micronutrients, allowing for year-round harvesting.